


Flowing Skirts and Soft Kisses (It's You that My Heart Misses)

by starsnatched



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, And he had to put down a dog, Caregiver Lee Taeyong, Character Study, Hurt and comfort, Johnny calls Taeyong mommy, Johnny is a vet, Lee Taeyong is Whipped, Light Angst, Littlespace should never be sexualized, M/M, Relationship Study, Soft Suh Youngho | Johnny, They love each other, True Love, littlespace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25225288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsnatched/pseuds/starsnatched
Summary: He remembers keeping them somewhere, reserved for when he needs to destress.He sighs shakily as he finds them. Maybe this will help.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 10
Kudos: 83





	Flowing Skirts and Soft Kisses (It's You that My Heart Misses)

**Author's Note:**

> I have a few friends that regress/who take care of those in littlespace. I really find those relationships admirable because I believe it requires a lot of trust—not only to be able to regress in front of the person/s they want to trust, but to also trust those people to always take care of them. I feel like this kind of relationship is pure and should be kept as such; so I don't condone a headspace as vulnerable as littlespace to be sexualised. That's just my opinion, though, you can disagree if you want to. I just wanted to put my thoughts out there.
> 
> Also, I mostly see stories portraying littlspace a bit extreme (?). And that's fine! Littles have their own way of expressing themselves and have their own wants/needs, but I wanted to write a story that shows a more lowkey side to littlespace. 
> 
> As always, I would really appreciate feedback as I write mainly for practice and to improve my skills.

The vet nurse stands and stretches. Yawning, he made his way to one of the prep rooms, where a veterinarian was seen cleaning some medical tools. The nurse taps the other’s shoulder, “Let me handle that, hyung.”

“It’s fine, Jungwoo,” The brunet sighs, as he squirts out water from a syringe. He leaves it on the towel and proceeds to try to clean the others. “I got it. You should go home.”

“It’s okay, hyung. I can do it,” Jungwoo gently but firmly shoulders Johnny to the side and takes over. The taller lets him, too drained to do anything. In fact, he’s just standing there, just watching the younger clean the tools. “Hyung?”

“S-sorry,” Johnny stammers as he snaps back to reality. He shakes his head and grips it, as if willing himself to stay grounded. “I’m just really out of it.”

Jungwoo glances at the brunet, notes the dull eyes, the downward mouth. The slouched back and the shuffling feet. He nods, “You really should head home, hyung. And get some rest, okay? You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah…” the man mutters, and he goes to change out of his uniform. “Yeah. Thanks, Jungwoo.”

Walking back home was somewhat a walk of shame for Johnny. He tries to make himself smaller, tries to make himself invisible. 

He doesn’t really know what he’s feeling. It’s not awful per se, not really. But it just leaves him with a sour taste in his mouth and an indescribable feeling of sadness. It gnaws at his feet at every step, chews on his heart at every beat.

The feeling didn’t go away even when he reached home, when he ate dinner, and showered. On autopilot, he goes to his closet and rummages through it. He remembers keeping them somewhere, reserved for when he needs to destress.

He sighs shakily as he finds them. Maybe this will help.

He gets his favorite pullover— a pastel yellow with sunflowers on it. He pulls out a satin periwinkle skirt, void of any design. A pair of panties with the same shade of light blue. A pair of soft yellow socks. 

When he puts them on, he looks at himself in the mirror. The sweater is bigger than even himself; his hands just barely peek out from under the sleeves; the skirt is just barely brushing against his knees, perfectly hiding the cotton panties, which fit snugly. He blushes while he observes himself in the mirror, feeling very cozy and warm. Light and little.

He pads his way to the living room and turns on the television. Johnny shuffles on the sofa so that he’s laying on it. He flicks through the channels, stopping on one where they were playing cartoons for children. The brunet hums, immersed in the bright colors. 

After almost an hour of watching, the front door opens. Johnny doesn’t acknowledge it, too busy watching Pororo. There are footsteps, and someone drops something— probably a bag.

A voice calls out, “Johnny?” to which the latter doesn’t respond, still too caught up in the colorful and cute animations. The brunet feels a hand on his head, and when he finally turns around his eyes sparkle. 

“Mommy!” the taller man sits up and nuzzles against the hand. The owner of said hand leaves a kiss on Johnny’s head, to which the brunet giggles. “Missed you.”

“Hi sweetheart,” Taeyong cooed. “Watching cartoons, are we?”

“Mhm,” the taller slurs, eyes droopy. He sighs as the younger strokes his hair, relaxing into the soft touch. “Was waiting for you.”

“You’re so thoughtful, sweetie.” the pink-haired man whispered, endlessly fond. Johnny just nods in agreement and smiles softly, because yes, he’s so considerate for his mommy!

“Okay baby, I’m just going to eat dinner and wash up, okay? Will you be fine watching TV by yourself?”

“But I wanna stay with mommy. Please? Pleaseee?”

The brunet pouts, and makes puppy eyes at his boyfriend. Taeyong notes how the other man’s eyes were half-lidded, and how he was slouching to make himself smaller. He comes to the conclusion that, based on previous experiences, that Johnny had been stressed so much that he needed to regress to cope.

“You can stay with me while I’m eating, but how about if I’m taking a shower? You can’t join me there, baby.”

“Um… I’ll hold your hand! Please, mommy? Pretty please?”

And so after Taeyong ate dinner (which was very hard since the taller one clung to him, cooing and giving him kisses), he ended up using only one hand to clean himself. It was difficult, considering that the pink-haired man had to stay rooted so that he didn't interrupt the hand-holding session.

“Pumpkin, can I remove my hand for just a few minutes? I need to lather on some soap.”

“But mommy!” a whine came from the other side of the shower curtain. 

“C’mon baby boy, just for a minute or two!”

“Promise…?” Johnny asks from behind the curtain. The younger proceeds to squeeze the brunet’s hand for a moment, as a form of reassurance.

“Promise, baby.”

The American’s hand loosens, and when Taeyong yanks his hand inside the shower and proceeds to scrub the soap bar on himself, the taller actually has the audacity to sing out, “Only for ten secs!”

“ _Ten seconds_? That’s not enough time!” the pink-haired says, as he frantically scrubs soap all over his body. 

“Nuh uh! You promised, mommy!”

“What a cheeky baby boy…” Taeyong mutters as he hears the taller man count out loud. By the time Johnny reaches eight, the younger man has his hand sticking out from the shower curtain, much to the delight of the American. The brunet hums a little song while his boyfriend continues showering, the two of them holding hands the entire time.

When Taeyong finishes and gets into more comfortable clothes, the couple find themselves on the couch again. Johnny is resting his head on the other's lap, body splayed on the couch. The Korean man is stroking his head, hands playing with the soft strands of hair. They sit in comfortable silence, this time watching Dooly.

"Mommy." when the pink-haired looks down, he sees Johnny looking at him seriously, albeit with half-lidded eyes still. His mouth shaped in a pout. Taeyong has to resist smothering his boyfriend in kisses.

"Yes, baby?"

The brunet doesn't respond, instead choosing to snuggle closer to the Korean, not even breaking eye contact. He pouts more, and the other man gives in.

"Mmmmm…" Taeyong hums, leaning in. The taller remains nestled in the pink-haired man’s space, waiting expectantly. He watches as the younger man comes closer ever so slowly. And when the Korean man leaves a huge kiss on the other’s cheek, he makes a show of saying, “Mwah.”

“Thank you mommy,” Johnny giggles. He rubs his head against the shorter man’s chest, feeling loved. “Thank you lots.”

“You’re welcome, cutie pie.” Taeyong smiles. 

The two go back to watching Dooly in silence, wrapped up in each other. Sometimes the American man lets out little “oohs” and “ahh”s to what was being played on the television screen, but other than that, they were basking in the peaceful quietness.

When the episode eventually ends, Taeyong reaches for the remote to turn the TV off, “Are you sleepy, honey?” Johnny nods his head, and on cue yawns. The younger man chuckles and continues on speaking, “You took a shower, right?”

“Yes, mommy.” The brunet whispered, eyes already fluttering.

“Okay honeybunch,” the younger man says, and he gently helps the other sit up so he himself can stand. He grasps the American’s hand and helps him up as well, and the pink-haired male leads them both to the bedroom. “Let’s go to bed.”

The couple are now pressed against each other on the bed, as per Johnny’s request. He’s always a little clingy when he’s littlespace, but it’s perhaps due to stress that he’s demanding more from his boyfriend. Not that said boyfriend is complaining.

“Do you… Want to talk about it, darling?” Taeyong whispers as he spoons the older man. Johnny shifts to face the pinkette, bottom lip bitten in worry. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But I’m willing to listen, love.”

“I—” The American starts, but stops. His lips quiver and the younger man hugs him tight. Taeyong cards one of his hands through the soft brown hair, whispering reassurances and sweet nothings. “I just saw something bad.” Johnny whispers, breathing shakily.

“Okay, buttercup.” the younger says, wholly focused on keeping his boyfriend calm. 

“Had to say bye to doggy,” Johnny continues, mumbling. He hiccups, and the shorter man leaves a kiss on one of his plunp cheeks. The brunet goes on, “But the doggy's owner left the room and…”

“Doggy was sad that the owner left?”

“Yeah,” the taller says, and wraps his arms around his boyfriend. He hugs just as tight, wanting comfort. “O-owner didn’t want to see d-doggy say bye-bye... But doggy kept crying a-and then I suh-saw doggy breathe one last—”

“Okay, pumpkin,” Taeyong says as the American starts to weep, burying his face into the pink hair. The younger gently strokes Johnny’s back, leaves soft kisses on his neck. “Thank you for telling me, sweetie.”

“I didn’t wuh-wanna make doggy say g-goodbye,” the taller sobs, snivelling. He slightly shakes. “I wanted the d-doggy to be happy, not c-cry!”

The pinkette keeps on stroking his back, keeps on leaving wisps of kisses on skin. He lets Johnny cry, allows him to let his feelings out. When it dies down to sniffles, he speaks.

“It’s okay, baby boy. You had to,” the Korean man tells him, reaching above him to take his boyfriend’s face in his hands and to have him make eye contact. His heart aches when he sees the guilt and sadness swimming in the other man’s eyes. “And I’m sure the doggy is in a better place now. What do you think, button?”

Johnny snivels, and the pink-haired uses one of his thumbs to wipe away the tears. “I—I think doggy is in a good p-place too.”

His boyfriend hums, fingers continuing to wipe away the falling tears. Slowly but surely, they stop, save for the occasional heaves of the brunet’s chest and the little sniffs. The taller man’s hands find their way to hold Taeyong’s, “Thank you mommy.”

“You’re welcome, angel.”

“A-and I’m sorry, mommy,” Johnny’s cheeks flush with shame. “For crying on you.”

“It’s okay baby boy,” the pinkette chuckles, and uses one of his hands to messily run it through his hair, which was damp with tears. Not that he minds.“I’m going to get up to get some tissues, okay?”

The American pouts, “But mommy!”

“Your nose is clogged sweetie,” Taeyong says just as his boyfriend sniffs loudly. He chuckles. “See? I’ll be quick, promise.”

“Fine.” Johnny grumbles, and lets his boyfriend get out of the bed and head to the bathroom to get tissue. When he comes back, he assists the brunet in sitting up. Smoothing the wrinkles out of his jumper, he asks, "Do you want me to help you, pumpkin?"

“No, it’s okay, mommy.” the younger holds out a piece of tissue, which the American takes and blows his nose with. When Johnny’s nose clears and all the used tissue is disposed of, they settle back into bed. They're both laying on their backs, observing the ceiling and appreciating one's presence.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, darling?”

The elder says nothing at first, rolling to his side to stare at Taeyong's hands. He grasps one of them, and plays with the fingers; the pinkette lets him. The both of them do nothing except watch Johnny's fingers dance with Taeyong's.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

The American leaves a small kiss on the hand, and looks up. His eyes shine, and he smiles. His eyes flutter shut as his breathing gradually slows.

"I love you, mommy."

Taeyong smiles, ever so fond. He closes his eyes, and entwines their fingers together. He shifts his head so that it's softly touching the brunet's, and closes his eyes.

"I love you too, baby boy. Sweet dreams."

The next day, when Johnny enters his friend Doyoung's café, there's a bounce in his step. There's a smile on his face, slight blush on his cheeks.

He's grateful that he has such an amazing boyfriend, and a wonderful caregiver to boot. Maybe he'll pick up something on the way home after his shift, as thanks for Taeyong taking care of him.

"Yo, Mark! How's your writing coming along?" the brunet says, as he sits down in front of another man. He places two cups of coffee, one in a mug and another in a takeaway cup.

When his friend—a Canadian author named Mark Lee— looks up, Johnny grins.

**Author's Note:**

> And so there you have it! A glimpse into the life of a little-caregiver relationship; I hope I was able to portray it well through this short story. I did my research and read other stories that featured littlespace, but if I'm off the mark anywhere here I sincerely apologise.
> 
> I had a friend who read this before I posted and wants a NSFW version. I do want to experiment, but I plan to use subspace. Actually, I already established boundaries here in this story that I plan to make clear in the 18+ version, if ever.
> 
> Please tell me if you would want a subspace/NSFW version, and your general feedback as well.
> 
> twitter: @starsnatched


End file.
